The CLDC provides activist communities with workshops on how to use FOIA and State Public Records laws. We are also currently suing several federal and state agencies for refusing to give up records that they don’t want the public to see—particularly the ongoing collusion between corporations and government agencies. Stay tuned for more updates on this important tool in the fight to protect the right to dissent against government and corporate repression.

The following piece was written by Cooper Brinson, former law clerk for CLDC.

Possible Reforms to FOIA Requests on the Horizon

February 5, 2015

Legislators met in D.C. on Thursday (Feb. 5) to discuss the possibility of new reforms surrounding the Freedom of Information Act. The proposed reforms were introduced on Monday (Feb. 2) by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) of the House and Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) of the Senate. The “FOIA Improvement Act of 2015” aims to make it easier for the public to obtain records and harder for federal agencies to hide records.

While there are some superficial differences between the proposed bills (House and Senate), if passed without amendments, they would:

  • Create a centralized online FOIA request portal. This would effectively allow a requester to make one request to various agencies.
  • Create a statutory presumption of openness (There already exists a presumption of disclosure, though this presumption is not incorporated into the statute. The presumption of openness is currently only mentioned in an accompanying presidential memorandum.) This amendment would apply to 5 U.S.C.A. 552(b), which establishes the guidelines that agencies must follow when responding to a FOIA request.
  • Create exceptions to the rule that agencies do not need to disclose inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters. The most notable exception includes a 25-year limit on the secrecy of these memorandums. In other words, if the inter/intra-agency memo was written more than 25 years prior to the FOIA request, the agency would have to hand it over.
    • Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. But if this rule is passed, it creates a bit more of a presumption in favor of the requester.

A statutory presumption of openness may make it easier to prove that the government is in fact colluding to obstruct the lawful First Amendment activity of protestors around the country. This is the second time lawmakers have attempted to amend the Freedom of Information Act. Last year, similar provisions were proposed but failed final approval in the House.

If it passes this year, environmental and social justice activists can be sure that we’ll have one more tool in our toolbox to fight back against government surveillance and repression. Until then, don’t hold your breath—keep doing the work that needs to be done.